Noah Centineo to play Atom Smasher in Dwayne Johnson's Black Adam movie

DC's Black Adam movie is gathering steam with the news that Noah Centineo is joining the cast. The star of Netflix hit To All The Boys I've Loved Before (and its two sequels) will be playing Atom Smasher opposite Dwayne Johnson's titular figure.

Directed by Jaume Collet-Serra (Unknown; Non-Stop), the Black Adam movie will introduce the eponymous anti-hero, who has been established within DC mythology as the arch-nemesis of Shazam! The latter has already been introduced in the 2019 movie hit of the same name, starring Zachary Levi as the invulnerable hero (actually young Billy Batson, played by Asher Angel, in disguise).

Black Adam was meant to have been introduced in the Shazam! movie, but the emphasis was changed to focus solely on the title character. However, Johnson has said the two characters will cross paths in a future DC Extended Universe (DCEU) movie.

According to Johnson, the Black Adam film will also introduce us to the Justice Society of America. In DC terms, this band of characters pre-dated the Justice League, and initially consisted of Doctor Fate, Hour-Man, Spectre, Sandman, Atom, Flash, Green Lantern, and Hawkman. Initially a huge hit when introduced to comic book fans in 1941, the Justice Society's popularity soon waned. However, certain characters were later revived and incorporated into what became the Justice League.

Atom Smasher (aka Albert Rothstein) is the godson of the aforementioned Justice Society member Atom, from whom he inherited the mantle. Throughout his comic book tenure, Atom Smasher has been a part of both the Justice League and Justice Society of America. Crucially, he's also experienced a prickly on/off bromantic friendship with Black Adam, which hopefully promises some entertainingly chippy chemistry between Johnson and Centineo in the movie.

Atom Smasher possesses Ant-Man style powers of shrinking and enlarging, which surely extends the visual possibilities of his character on the big screen. Filming was due to start in July 2020 but due to the COVID-19 pandemic, has been pushed back to later in the year.

Black Adam is due for release in December 2021. Excited about Centineo's role? Let us know @Cineworld.